Asian Carp - As Food

As Food

Asian carp have been a popular food fish in Asia for thousands of years. However, many people in North America associate the term carp with common carp, an unrelated bottom-feeding, worse-tasting fish that was introduced from Eurasia much earlier.

The pearly white flesh - complicated by a series of bones - is said to taste like cod or described as tasting like a cross between scallops and crabmeat. They are low in mercury because they do not eat other fish. To make the fish more appealing to American consumers, the fish have been renamed silverfin or Kentucky tuna. Volunteer efforts to increase the popularity further include making and selling carp-based dishes and using the entrails to make fertilizer. Carp caviar is also increasing in popularity and is an alternative to further endangering sturgeon.

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